Curved momentum gravity-track.



N0. 727,221. PATENTED MAY 5, 1903.

G. M. SMITH. a GURVED MOMBNTUM GRAVITY TRACK.

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CURVED MOMENTUM GRAVITY-TRACK.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 727,221, dated May 5,1903.

Application filed May 12, 1992.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES M. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Los Angeles, in'the county of Los Angeles, State ofCalifornia, have invented and discovered a new and useful Improvement inCurved.

Momentum Gravity-Tracks; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to improvements in tracks for bicycles and othervehicles; and some of the objects of my improvement are, first, toprovide a track on which vehicles travel; second, to produce a singletrack on which a bicycle is propelled with safety; third, to construct asingle track in an apparently dangerous position on which a bicycle orother vehicle is run without peril to the rider; fourth, to make asingle trackon which a bicycle is operated, the starting-point of thetrack being higher than the'finishingpoint; fifth, to produce a singletrack for vehicles having a loop as a part thereof interposed betweenthe two ends of the track; sixth, to devise a single track with acontinuousloop portion made integral therewith for the amusement of thepublic. I attainthese and other objects by the construction illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a perspective view ofthe track and the loop forming a part thereof, and Fig. 2 is a view inelevation of the safety attachment for the vehicles within the track andshowing a portion of the track in section.

Similar reference-numerals refer to like parts throughout both views.

The numeral 1 designates one end of the track, the starting-pointthereof considerably higher than the other end thereof, and at or nearthe starting-point a platform 2 is erected for the convenience of therider or riders in preparing for the j ourney over the track from thestarting-point l to the finishing-point 3. At or near thefinishing-point or end of the track another platform or station 4 isbuilt for the accommodation of the operator or operators of the vehicleon which to sit down and be refreshed after the journey is ended. Theentire track is made in sections, as indicated at 5, 6, and 7, upon thedescending Serial No. 107,028. (No model.)

or starting portion of the track, and in like manner the track isconstructed in sections, as referred to by the reference-numerals 5, 6,and 7, upon the ascending or finishing portion of the track. Each one ofthe said sections 5 5, 6 6, and 7 .7 are made alike, and the end of onesection abuts and adjoins the end of the adjacent section and are heldtogether by cleats 1O 11 12 upon the descending porrespectively, thesaid reference-numerals decreasing in denomination on the starting por--tion 20 of the track to the end 13 thereof, the beginning of theascending loop portion 14, and the said reference-numerals increasing indenomination from the bottom or end of the loop 15 of the finishing orascending portion 30 of the track. A description of one of thesaidsections 5, 6, or 7 willeserve as descriptive of each and all of thesaid sections.

. To the board '16 of any one of the sections is secured, upon the outeredges thereof and at right angles to the edges of said board throughoutits entire length, the two side boards 17, both of said boards 17 beingof the same dimension and securely fastened to the board 16 by means ofscrews or other suitable devices to prevent the said side boards 17 fromspreading apart orseparating from each other. The board 16 is groovedthroughout its entire length near the two edges thereof, and the twosaid side boards 17 are inserted in said grooves of the board 16 andtherein secured 'by screws or other suitable means. Thus it will appearobvious, so far as described, that there is a trough formed by the board16 and the two boards 17, in which the steering apparatus, attached tothe bicycle or like vehicle by means of the steel plate 40, is operatedtherein, as will hereinafter further be explained.

The trough comprising the board 16 and the two side boards oiplanks 17for each section of the track has an addition made thereto. Upon thefree edges of the said two side boards or planks 17 is fastened thecover 18, (shown upon Fig. 2 of the drawings,) consisting of a singleboard or plank 18 of the same dimension as the board 16, and the saidcover 18 is secured to the free detached edges of opposite edges of saidside boards 17 are fastion 20 and finishing portion 30 of the track,

the two side boards 17 in like manner as the tened to the board 16, asbefore described. The cover 18 is slotted in each section of the trackthroughout its entire length, and in the slot 41 formed in said coverthe steel plate 40, rigidly secured to the frame of the bicycle or othervehicle, is caused to travel freely therein as the vehicle is propelledby the rider over the track.

On the under side of the cover 18 and within the track, projectingslightly into the slot 41, are two protecting-strips 19, made of steelor other suitable material, against which the wheels 42, fastened to thesteering apparatus and a part thereof, within the track, travel. Theparticular construction of the said steering apparatus (shown in Fig. 2of the drawings) is made a subject-matter of a separate application fora patent, and therefore any further description of said steeringapparatus is not necessary to be made herein.

Upon the outside of the cover 18, at short distances from the slot 41 oneither side thereof and extending the entire length of the descendingloop and ascending portions of the track, are two outer rounded surfacedbeads 43. One surface of said beads is flat, which fiat surface liesclose to the outside of the cover 18, and the said beads are secured tothe cover 18 by means of screws or other suitable devices. Between thesetwo beads the Wheels of the vehicle travel and by means of which,together with the plate 40, keep the vehicle plumb and true upon thetrack.

The track, composed of abutting sections, as hereinbefore described, issupported upon props 21, located at suitable points under the track,from one end to the other of the descending and ascending portionsthereof, and the loop is retained in the true vertical position by meansof two or more props 21, as may be required.

Throughout the entire length of the descending portion and the ascendingportion of the track cleats 10, 11, and 12 are fastened on the outsideof the boards or planks 17 on both sides of the track and extending overthe abutting end of the two adjacent sections thereof and securelyfastened to the said boards 17 by means of screws or other suitabledevices. By means of said cleats the adjacent sections of the track arerigidly held together and kept in alinement with each other throughoutthe entire length of the track, including the descending and ascendingportions thereof. Under each pair of these cleats 10, 11, and 12,holding together abutting and adjoining ends of two adjacent sections ofthe track, one prop 21 is placed, thereby rigid y holding in alinementdifferent sections of the track in its true elevated position, and whatmight appear to be weak points of the track are in reality as strong asother portions thereof. The props that hold in position the loop are notrequired to be so numerous as in other portions of the track the truevertical position.

To prevent the two side boards 17 composin g the track from spreadingapart, I provide brackets composed of strips 22 of wood or othersuitable material, each strip 22 longer than the width of the board 16and of the cover 18, and these strips are secured at short distancesapart on the outside of the board 16 by means of screws or otherdevices, said strips 22 projecting on either side and beyond the track,and to each end of said strips 22 is fastened a bracket-iron 23, asshown upon the loop portion of the track inFig. 1 of the draw ings. Theopposite end of the bracket-iron 23 is secured, by means of screws orother suitable means to the side boards 17, near the edge thereof,wherethe cover 18 is fitted to the edge of said boards.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s

1. In amusement-railways, a single track including therein a verticalloop having a longitudinal slot therein, in which a guide-plate securedto a vehicle is adapted to slide and over which slot the wheels of thevehicle are constructed to travel.

2. In an amusement-railway, a single track including therein a verticalloop provided with a central longitudinal slot, in which a steeringdevice attached to a vehicle is constructed to move, and over which slotone of the wheels of a vehicle is adapted to travel.

3. In amusement-railways, a single track comprising a descendingportion, a loop portion, and an ascending portion, said portions havinga longitudinal slot therein, means secured to a vehicle adapted totravel in said slot.

4. In railways, a single track composed of a descending portion, avertical loop portion, and an ascending portion, having a centrallongitudinal slot therein, in which a plate secured to a vehicle isadapted to travel, and over which slot the wheels of said vehicle areconstructed to move.

5. In railways, a single track, having connected descending, loop andascending portions each of which portions is provided with a centrallongitudinal continuous slot in which a guide-plate, attached to avehicle, is constructed to slide and over said slot the wheels of saidvehicle are adapted to travel.

6. In railways,a track comprisingadescending, and ascending and verticalloop portions, the radii of said loop being equal, each of said portionsof the track provided with a central longitudinal slot, means secured toa Vehicle, adapted to slide in said slot and guided thereby.

7. In amusement-railways, a single track centrally and longitudinallyslotted throughout the entire length thereof, said trackhavinginterposed, intermediate of the ends thereof, one or more verticalloops, whose radii are equal, a guide-plate secured to a vehicle,adapted to travel within said slotted track.

8. A single track having a central longitudinal slot therein, said trackcomprising a descending, loop and ascending portion, continuouslyslotted throughout the entire lengths thereof, means attached to abicycle constructed to slide in said slot, and over which slot thewheels of the bicycle are adapted to travel.

9. A single track for a bicycle, consisting of three or more portions, adescending, loop and an ascending portion, each of said portionsprovided with a central longitudinal connected slot throughout theentire lengths of said portions, a guide-plate secured to a bicycleconstructed to slide within said slot, and the Wheels of the bicycleadapted to travel in a path over said slot.

10. A single railway-track having a vertical loop a part thereof, theradii of which loop are all equal, said track provided with a singleslot adapted to receive the steering apparatus of a bicycle or othervehicle.

11. A single track for bicycles or other vehicles, provided with a slotin the cover thereof, adapted to receive a steering apparatus, saidtrack made in sections, each of which consists of three boards and acover forming a rectangularbox, each section rigidly se- CHARLES M.SMITH.

Witnesses:

AMELIA GUEST, I. B. MARLIN.

